


Bloom

by Viras_stase



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:22:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24736870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Viras_stase/pseuds/Viras_stase
Summary: Some chapters written up for Zen, who requested this through Discord.These are a few chapters that I have written up for their novel, to help them get off the ground with it.The first two chapters are about the female main character, named Lunesia Eryesil Verida and goes by the nickname Luerye.The second two chapters are about the male main character, named Xeno Ellias and goes by the nickname Zell.





	1. Luerye's Young Life

The day began like any other. First came my studies with my tutor. It was one hired by my father – best in the land they both claimed. If he was truly the best, why not teach an actual class and impart that wisdom onto many others? With his supposed prowess I am sure he could request any amount of lump sum on hire and a wage that would make noblemen drool. He only ever focused on teaching me what was he thought was relevant, and never answered my questions on any subject.

After that, it would be a quite painful lunch. Like most noble families, we always made a point of eating together. My mother said it would tie the family tighter, or something like that. I know my father only viewed it as a chance to make sure I was keeping up. He would ask me questions about my studies, how far I had progressed, and such mundane things. Every so often he would insist I drop the old tradition of dancing, but he never pushed it unlike other things – like that time he caught my doing some absent minded doodles and lost his mind.

Today was one of the rare days he decided to come and watch my dancing practice. I hated it when he did so. Our family was all about rules, and etiquette, and appearances. And I know why all this was what the family valued. I had lived in this family for 10 years, and unlike others I didn't grow up jaded to what my family was like. All my father wanted was power, and all I wanted was to be free. Free like the stories I have read, over and over.

Every night since the day I first learned how to read, I would open up books with stories about one thing only – Adventurers. People who are free to do as they please, when they please, how they please. They are not bound by family names, nor by blood ties. They are expected to be rough and tumble while still having honour.

They all live a life I could never hope for. No, hope is such a weak word for my emotions. I yearn to be like them. I crave, with every fibre of my being, to one day go out and live my life – not my family's life. A life I chose, with my own rules surrounded by people who genuinely care about me.

But it will never be. Just like this dance, my every action has been planned out by my family. And just like I ensure to preform every step perfectly, just like every other time I've preformed in front of my father, they ensure that I will always move to their plans. But how long can I survive under such a life? Under such an overbearing force that seeks to rob me of all I dream? But I can't let it break me – I won't let it break me!

And upon that thought, something felt like it swelled up from deep inside me. It writhed, pulsed, and constricted, as if it was trying to break free from something. I would not call it painful, but whatever it was drew my focus and, for the first time in a long while, I landed improperly and fell to the ground.

I could hear some of the maids rushing to my side, concern in their voices but not the words. Something loud was beating in my ear, and I could not tell what it was. Was it my heart? Was it this sensation that cost me my dance? I'm sure whatever it was, my father was wearing a look of disappointment that I had failed in such a way doing what I did every day.

Slowly the feeling ebbed away, and I was able to regain my composure. I stood up, but was still uneasy on my feet. Before I had a chance to fall back down, one of the maids supported my by grabbing onto my shoulders. I looked up where my family was, and I immediately wished I hadn't. My father was looking at me with a smile – but not a kind one. It was the one he wore whenever something beneficial to the family happened.

“It's almost here...”

A few words escaped his mouth, and it didn't take long for me to figure out what he meant. My Bloom. My unique power, that everyone in the world had access to. Not everyone would awaken to their Bloom in their life, and even those who did had them vary by staggering amounts. Even those born to the same family, and raised with the same conditions, could awaken to entire different Blooms. It was even possible only one would awaken to a Bloom, as well as neither.

The Blooms were a gift to us by the gods. The Goddess of Strength Viris, the God of Knowledge Xyven, and the Goddess of Beauty Avelia. Those three are also said to be the ones who created the world we live on – Plian. Some Blooms were made for combat, and others were meant for more daily tasks. Some aided in research, and others aided in cultivation. Some Blooms could even control elements.

My father demanded I rest after my accident, and so I was forced to retire to my room for the rest of the day, and even had dinner brought to me. Because I had found myself with so much time, I once again read my favourite stories. If I was about to awaken to my Bloom, it might be the thing I need to free myself from this house.

I would be able to become an adventurer just like those in my stories. Oh how much I would enjoy every day then. I would tour the land, helping those in need. For those who were living in poverty, I would aid them without cost. For the rich – like my family – I would charge large sums and give most away to those who needed it. And naturally, I would help anyone who wished to be freed from their family like me.

Near the end of the night, my father wound up summoning me. I was escorted down to his audience room by some maids. They said that he had ordered them to come along in case I had another issue like earlier. The false concern sickened me. I knew he was only concerned about the Bloom, and wanted to be there when it happened so he could see it with his own eyes. Once I was inside, the maids went back out and closed the door.

“Hello Sir Father.”

“Good evening Lunesia. How are you feeling now?”

“Better. Thank you for letting me rest in my room.”

“Think nothing of it. Has anything else happened since?”

“No, Sir Father.”

“Hmm... I see. Then you may go back and rest then.”

“By your leave.”

At least it was a quick exchange, and I was free to leave. I don't know how, but I have to try and force my Bloom to awaken while he wasn't around. Not to prevent him from knowing about it, no. I wanted it to awaken so I could learn to downplay it. Make him see it as something not interesting enough to pay attention to. But how could I do so...?

The day after played out the same until lunch, when my father suddenly announced he would – from this day forward – always be at my dance practices. Mother thought it was wonderful that he had seemed to finally acknowledge a tradition that had long been forgotten. If it wasn't for me having to dig it up for him to even allow it in the first place, I doubt they would have even known about it.

That time however, nothing happened. Same with the day after that, and the one following that. The days quickly turned to a week, and one week quickly lead to the next. Soon, it had been over a month since my initial reaction.

Over time, my father gained an ever growing stern look on his face. He was likely upset nothing had happened, and I could not blame him. I was upset as well, for my Bloom had not awakened in private either. Our growing unease continued to build with every passing day.

However, part way into the second month, it happened again. I had been feeling quite similar to how I felt the first time, but far stronger. This time after my fall, something more happened. Before my eyes, I saw a field of flowers. But one in particular stood out to me. I couldn't stand, so instead I dragged myself over to it. I felt something pull on my arms, but when I looked around, I saw no one else. It was just me and a expansive field of flowers.

I turned back to the one that had called my attention, and crossed the remaining distance. I reach down to the flower, attempting to put it into my hand. Instead of feeling it's soft-looking petals, my hand simply passed through. After this, I felt a voice ring in my head.

“I see, so you are attracted to the Flower of Freedom little one. Very well, your Bloom shall be your wings to reach it. May you and those you attract reach your dreams and make them reality.”

And suddenly, my vision cleared, and I could see our grand hall again. The maids surrounded me, looking not only with concern, but fear. I could tell the fear was not directed at me, but rather for me. As my other senses cleared up, I could soon understand why. My father was laughing – and not a good one. It was loud and manic, like those of the bad guy in adventuring stories. His laughter died down shortly after he realized I was back to normal.

“Why, how simply amazing!”

What unsettling words he spoke to me. Were they kind, or were they calculating? I am unsure, and I did not truly care. The voice said my Bloom would be my wings to reach my dream, so whatever it was, I would be able to leave here with it's help. Awakening to my Bloom was surely something my father knew would happen, he just could not predict what it would appear as or when. But now I have it, and he likely knew that whatever I gained was going to be strong if nurtured and he relished in the idea of such power being added to the family.

But for me, freedom would be in reach if I listened for a bit longer, and learned how to cultivate and use my new ability. And once I could leave with this power, I will. I will leave, and find that flower. I will become and Adventurer in true as well. My dream, my yearning, my absolute desire, will finally be within my reach, and all I must do is remain captive for a little while longer.


	2. Luerye's Escape

It's been about two years since my Bloom first appeared. Since then, I've managed to somewhat downplay how strong it is for my father – although I'm not entirely sure how strong it really is. I know it uses my dancing, but past that I haven't really gotten anything concrete. At least that tells me it's one of more unique ones, as it hasn't been easy to learn.

This fact, however, has seemed to upset my father. He doesn't take it out on anyone necessarily, but it's not like he hides it either. At the very least, I can tell he doesn't blame me. Even with that however, it doesn't make the rest of what he's done better.

Slowly over the two years, he's shifted my curriculum from study-based to dance-based. He figures that because that's when it awakened, dancing has something to do with it. However because I'm able to downplay how much I know, and can sort of use, he feels that either I'm not trying hard enough, I'm not being taught properly, he was off-base with his assumption, or a mix of all three.

I try to practice with my Bloom in my room, but he's had at least one maid always within earshot normally to ensure that if something happens he'll know as soon as possible. Honestly, all these changes have only served to make my life even more stifling than before. I've been looking for my chance to escape for a few months now as nothing's really happened.

In about a week, I'll finally have that chance too. Being a part of a noble family, being 12 means I'm technically 'of age' now for certain things. Nothing too extreme like marriage thankfully, but that doesn't change that it's still important.

It's a fairly large ceremony, and it keeps to traditions. First, my mother and father will go off first and arrive at the.. temple? I think that's where it's being held anyways. After they arrive, a small caravan of sorts will depart from there to come get me.

However, it's at least an hour between my parents leaving and the caravan arriving. In that time, I can pack some necessities for my escape. The ceremony takes most of the day, so the staff for then will only have morning duties and some minor upkeep tasks. This will give me the opportunity to leave with a suitcase at least.

However, when I do make my escape, I have to stay away from any roads for a while. They'll likely have everyone they can mobilize out looking for me, so I need to stay out of sight of anyone. Survival isn't exactly one of my skills though, so I need to try and take as much prepared and long lasting food with me as possible.

In preparation for that, I've made asking for food at a certain time a normal habit, and explained it as being hungrier than usual due to the continually increasing physical demand on me. So on the day of, when I go and ask for some food, they'll think nothing of it.

However, if I've learned anything from the stories, it's that the best laid plan will always fail. I need to leave some of this open so I can account for sudden changes. Past that, it's just a matter of waiting for the day to arrive.

It's time. Just as I thought, Mother and Father left very early this morning. Father was saying something like “The sooner it's over with, the sooner we can resume studying her Bloom” and trying to rush as much as possible.

Mother thought he was being silly, because the ceremony itself can only go so fast and thus can't be really rushed. However, she knew trying to stop him was also not the best idea, so she sighed and went along with it anyways.

Shortly after they left, I went and got some bread and sundries from the kitchen. The head chef was concerned that what I was taking was too light, but I told him that it was because I didn't want to eat a heavy meal before the ceremony, just in case I got ill due to nerves.

Now all that I'm all packed, and the staff have all left for the day aside from a few who still have small tasks, it's time for me to make my move. My suitcase has been filled with what I think I'll need to survive these next few days, as many coins as I could get my hands on, and two sets of clothes for if things get ripped or too dirty.

As a now aspiring adventurer I can't allow a little bit of dirt to get to me, but if it starts to become a hindrance I'll have to change. I put my food into some empty pillow sacks and tied them around my chest and over one shoulder so it hangs off my back a bit.

As I'm making my way down the courtyard towards our gates, I see one of the servants on the far side from me, and they seem to have noticed me. They are calling out something to me, but I'm too far away to really hear it.

Either way, they saw me so I need to move quickly now. I start to run, pretty much dragging my suitcase across the ground behind me. The gates were left open, so I quickly move past them and rush towards the thickest foliage near our property as possible.

I studied up on this before. If I can break the line of sight, their eyes won't be able to spot me as easily until they can directly see me again. I can however hear the servant a bit more now, so it's obvious they are chasing after me.

I rush into the foliage, breaking some of it apart, and come out on the other side. A few tears in my white dress shirt and skirt, but nothing too bad yet. A short distance from me is some trees. If I can get on the other side of those before the servant catches up, I'm free.

They won't be able to pick up my trail fast enough to figure out where I went fast enough if I keep up my speed. I'm so close to my freedom I can almost taste it. The bliss from knowing how close is making me feel like I'm much lighter than before, and so I'm running even faster. Faster, faster and even faster, towards my new future.

It's been about an hour after my escape now. Apparently what I felt earlier wasn't just me being excited – I actually ran faster. I must have done it without really thinking about it. However, that helped me get away without many problems. Once I was on the other side of the trees, I darted from underbrush to underbrush, staying still if I thought there was even the slightest chance someone was nearby.

I've taken a rest at a small pond hidden by some thick bushes of some kind. I've almost gone through a quarter of the bread. Originally I panicked because I thought that what I had wouldn't be enough, but then I remembered I just did a lot of physical activity, so naturally I'd eat a fair bit more than I thought.

Now comes the hard part though. I managed the initial escape, but now I need to avoid getting found. Seeing as how it's only been about an hour, my parents won't know yet, and they will likely only have searched around the estate so far. If I can make it until I fall into a smaller domain where no one knows my family, I can start my new life finally.

But for now, my life is my own. It's finally my own life! I'm not longer bound by my family, and soon I'll make sure I never am again. And once I'm able to do so, I'll make sure everyone knows about the dark side that every noble family has. Then maybe, just maybe, those kids can have their own lives too.

For my own family though, I am older – not by much however – and able to see my family for what it was. It is a long standing line of protectors, but one which has lost it's sense of what is right along the way. They only care for one thing – and it's power.

I know we used to be a line of protectors from some of the books in the study that contained parts of our history. However, somewhere along the line someone in the family shifted the values. They slowly stopped being the shield for people, and soon became the sword pointed at them instead.

Those values accumulated in my father, which would explain his outlook on life and the family – as well as my Bloom. It benefited his idea of what the family needed, and so to him it was like one of his dearest wishes was granted.

Now that I've escaped though, I bet that will all come crumbling down around him. His world crumbling and my world beginning... what a day, and what a way to start my life. However, I wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
